Arrow – Elseworlds (Part 2)

“Elseworlds” continues as Barry (Grant Gustin), Oliver (Stephen Amell), and Kara (Melissa Benoist) head to Gotham City in search of the person responsible for the changes to reality. Who they find is Batwoman (Ruby Rose). As with Part 1, this episode has plenty of Easter Eggs for DC Comics fans including John Wesley Shipp in his classic Flash costume appearing in a vision (not unlike the Flash did in Crisis on Infinite Earths). The episode also cements a couple of points that, up until now, the Arrowverse has been coy about discussing: Batman exists on both Earths, although he’s been absent from the Gotham City of Earth-1 for quite some time.

Batwoman holds her own (with very Burton-esque grapple gun) in an episode that delivers Gotham and Arkham Asylum for the first time (even if the more famous Bat-villains don’t get screentime). I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing more of Batwoman and Gotham in the future, and also Shipp’s world featuring the far cooler Flash costume and even a Green Lantern. In another tie-in to Crisis on Infinite Earths, the episode also introduces the Psycho Pirate (Bob Frazer) who, if everything holds to form, it appears we’ll be seeing much more of around this time next year. Ending on yet another cliffhanger as John Deegan (Jeremy Davies) reboots the world as its new Superman and Barry and Oliver as street hoods, there’s plenty of heroics remaining for the finale.